Walmart cracking down on NJ shoppers who try to save money

Every dollar matters these days, and that's where coupons come into play when you're making your weekly trip to the grocery store.

That's why a major retailer's decision to make adjustments to its coupon policy is bound to make some customers unhappy at checkout.

Changes made to Walmart's coupon policy on Sept. 24 caught the eye of Coupons in the News, which says that Walmart hadn't touched their rules in nearly six years.

According to their post, there are three changes that all customers should know about.

Changes to Walmart's coupon policy

No more "overage"

Walmart doesn't have its own coupons, but the retail giant allows shoppers to use paper coupons issued by manufacturers of products that Walmart sells.

In some cases, the coupon's value would actually be more than the retail price of the item, meaning shoppers can get cash back or have the difference applied to their overall transaction.

That won't be happening anymore.

Going along with other major brands, Walmart's updated policy notes that the chain "does not give cash back nor will any overages apply to the remaining items in the transaction if the value of a coupon is greater than the purchase value of the item, including WIC and SNAP."

"The value of a coupon will be applied up to the price of the item and any excess value will not be applied to the transaction total," the policy reads.

Coupon limits

Walmart has no limit on the number of coupons that can be used during a transaction.

But there is now a limit of four identical coupons per household, per day.

So, if you happened to secure five of the same coupons for $1 off your laundry detergent purchase, you'd only be able to scan four of those coupons during your visit.

No more overrides

Coupons in the News describes this third change as "perhaps the most controversial and consequential."

A combination of language added to Walmart's policy and language removed from the policy suggests that shoppers will have no shot at arguing a coupon's legitimacy if the scanner determines a coupon is invalid.

"Items purchased must match the coupon description (brand, size, quantity, color, flavor, etc.). Acceptance of unmatched coupons is against policy and will be systematically denied," the updated policy reads.

According to Coupons in the News, the old coupon policy stated that “in select circumstances a register prompt will occur during coupon transactions that require a CSM or Management to validate the manufacturer coupon(s).”

In essence, if the checkout machine says your coupon is not a match, you're out of luck.

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